City to charge for Baranof ice rink usage When the Baranof Park Ice Rink opens next week, users will have to pay to use. That is a change from years past. City of Kodiak Parks and Recreation director Corey Gronn said the advisory board recommended fees for ice rink usage to match that of other city facilities, such as the swimming pool. “All of our programs had a charge with the exception of the ice rink,” Gronn said. When the rink opens Nov. 10, youths y...

Kodiak sports icons up for hallPeople once again have a chance to enshrine a pair of Kodiak icons and a legendary team into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. Joe “Coach” Floyd and Kristi Waythomas (Klinnert) are nominees in the people category for the 2015 class, while Kodiak’s boys basketball 2001 state championship game victory over East Anchorage is in the moments category. All three have been on the ballot since the 2007 — the first year of t...

Replica parka mixes new with oldThe Alutiiq Museum, known for being a repository of historical artifacts, proved its ability to adapt with modern technology as it unveiled a replica of a caribou parka from the 1800s. The museum hosted the unveiling before a packed gallery on Thursday to display a replica of a parka that was collected from Kodiak in 1840 and housed in a museum in Helsinki, Finland. The parka in Finland is decorated with puffin be...

Public Safety Blotter: Nov. 4October 19 • Around 12:26 a.m., police conducted seven bar checks downtown. • At 12:51 a.m., police arrested a driver on Center Avenue on suspicion of driving under the influence. • At 1:25 a.m., a caller reported harassment. It’s under investigation. • At 2:58 a.m., police arrested a man on Woody Way on suspicion of criminal trespass and violating conditions of release. Police cited another man for having no proo...

Eye doctor celebrates 40 years in KodiakWhat’s the eye-opening thing about owning a business? Why not ask an eye doctor, especially one with 40 years of experience. “It’s kind of like having another seven wives,” said John Shank, who celebrates 40 years of Kodiak business this month. Shank grew up and attended college in Ohio. He taught high school physics for a while before moving to Oregon and attending Pacific University College of Optometry, where h...

Anthony earns fourth All-GNAC honorsDylan Anthony had a day for the record books Saturday in Oregon. The former Kodiak High School great joined an elite group of Great Northwest Athletic Conference runners by becoming only the seventh cross country runner to earn four all-conference honors. Anthony, a senior at University of Alaska Anchorage, netted his fourth and final award by galloping to a third-place finish at the GNAC Championships in Monmouth...

Kodiak Island Births: Nov. 4Gabriel and Abigail Jensen were born on October 17, 2014, to Trevor B. and Johana E. Jensen. Gabriel was born at 8:10 p.m., and Abigail was born at 8:11 p.m. He weighed 4 pounds, 12 ounces and was 17.5 inches long, and she weighed 4 pounds, 11 ounces and was 17 inches long. Their parents are originally from Salt Lake City, Utah and now live in Kodiak. The babies’ mother works at Kodiak Community Health Center, and...

Kodiak swimming sends 23 to stateIn terms of state swimming and diving qualifiers, Kodiak tops the state. The Bears qualified a state-best 23 athletes to the state championship meet that begins Friday at Bartlett High School in Anchorage. Dimond advanced 22 swimmers and divers, followed by Colony at 21 and South Anchorage at 20. A number of Kodiak athletes go in with the top-seed time in the state. Freshman Talon Lindquist is seeded first in the ...

KHS spikers draw late matchAfter months of jockeying for position, the final seedings for the Northern Lights Conference Volleyball Championships were announced Monday. Palmer and Kodiak already knew they had sealed up the top two spots, but now each school knows what team it could be playing in the second round. The Bears, the conference’s second seed, will either play third-seeded Soldotna or sixth-seeded Kenai at 8 p.m. Thursday at Palme...